Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics: Environmental Economics

This master’s programme focuses on the economic dimensions of local, regional, and global environmental challenges, the use and depletion of natural resources, and the role of market-based policies to incentivize the adoption of environmentally friendly practices and technologies. These questions are important both for improving the sustainability of our current living standards and for fighting the devastating effects of climate change. The programme discusses how government and society can rise to the challenge of managing environmental quality, natural resources, and the energy transition effectively. Some examples of fundamental questions that we discuss are: What policies can best address pollution and other negative consequences of economic activities? What characterizes efficient exploitation of renewable resources (such as forestry and fishery) and non-renewable resources (such as fossil fuels and minerals), and how does this differ from a free-market outcome? How do environmental policies induce innovation, and what role do technology policies play in environmental regulation? How can climate policies avoid being undone by the unintended consequences of market responses like “carbon leakage”, the “rebound effect” or the “Green Paradox”?